State girls basketball title sweet for Cy-Fair

HOW SWEET IT ISCy-Fair shows it's the best in stateThis time, Lady Bobcats leave Austin with smiles, state championship

NEIL STRATTON, Chronicle Correspondent

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, March 6, 2008

THE way Ann Roubique describes it, the 2006-07 girls basketball season for Cy-Fair was like a rollicking block party that in the end left everyone a little empty.

She sounded glad everyone made it back for the reunion, which had a decidedly different outcome.

"Last year, goodness, the gym would be packed watching us play," the Lady Bobcats coach said. "Then, the disappointment we had when we lost last year and the faculty, the staff, the community, most of them wanted it just as badly as we did. And they lived the dream with us and the disappointment, so it was fun to have them stay on the bandwagon, so to speak.

"Hopefully, we can keep them there for another year or so."

After Cy-Fair made it to the 2007 Class 5A girls basketball state championship game before coming up short, Roubique's team tasted sweet redemption last Saturday in a 50-33 victory over DeSoto at the Erwin Center in Austin.

The championship was doubly impressive because the team got off to a less than impressive start. After four games, Cy-Fair was 2-2 and looking like a little less than a state title contender.

Roubique said she saw the bumpy start, which came while senior Nneka Ogwumike and her sister, sophomore Chiney, were competing in the state volleyball tournament, as a chance for her team to get tougher.

"I kind of looked at (the 2-2 start) in two ways," she said. "One, we needed to learn to win without them, because you never know who's not going to make it through the season. One of the losses was against Cinco Ranch, and then we were able to beat them without (the Ogwumikes). But again, obviously, for me to say that it wasn't going to change when they got there, it would be naïve, because obviously they make a huge difference when they're on the floor."

The victory party continues in earnest today when the school hosts a state championship celebration rally for the team. Complete with the band, cheerleaders and pomp and circumstance of every fashion. It should serve as a fitting end to the latest state title at Cy-Fair; the baseball team won the state tournament last spring. The volleyball team made it to the 2007 state tournament in addition to the Lady Bobcats' basketball trip last year.

Director of athletics and head football coach Ed Pustejovsky is the man technically responsible for all the Cy-Fair success on the court and the diamond. He deflects all the praise for the school's latest achievement, of course, to Roubique.

"They did a fantastic job," Pustejovsky said. "I'm not around them as much as coach Roubique, but they are also very respectful, and sportsmanship-wise they play the game the way they're supposed to. They play hard, and they're also good in the classroom. They just work hard at everything they do."

He said he is especially impressed with the Cy-Fair girls' success given the expectations they had, coming off of last year's near miss in the state final.

"I think the expectations were high coming off of last year, which is added pressure to the girls and the coaching staff," Pustejovsky said, "but their goal was set early on and they certainly obtained it, and made it back to the tournament and that's what they did (won the title)."

Pustejovsky couldn't put his finger on whether the school's success can be attributed to a series of exceptional athletes or a staff of exceptional coaches.

"I think It's a combination of both outstanding student-athletes who have come through here and an exceptional coaching staff," the AD said. "They do a fantastic job of working with the kids. The kids and the staff have just done a fantastic job."

Cy-Fair senior Mansa El said she is grateful for everyone around the team.

"Our students have been very supportive," she said. "We had announcements on the mornings of games, and we've been in the paper, and our neighbors have been behind us. It's been a very supportive atmosphere."

She said she was also glad everyone stuck around, even when things didn't start off quite as fast as maybe some had expected.

"We had some early disappointments (during their 2-2 start), but we kept getting more confident," El said. "We just didn't want to get too confident. We couldn't be sure because of the competition in our district."

A junior, Harriet Lakind will be back next year. She said that opponents can expect more of the same next year.

"We definitely know (the returning players) have talent and a good work ethic," Lakind said. "We should be a dominant team again next year."

Lakind said it will be important for fellow seniors and herself to show the newcomers from the junior varsity and junior high the way to success.

"The younger ones will look up to us to keep things positive if things get tough," she said. "They're a very good group of girls. They try to feed off (the upperclassmen). I think it will be a very good year. They will bring a lot to the table."